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Monday, January 30, 2012

20 Days of WoW Blogging: Day 5 - My Favorite Items

"I picked it up in Stranglethorn Vale"

Transmogrification is a popular new feature in World of Warcraft that let's players make their equipment look like other equipment. I'm interested in a different kind of transmogrification, the kind that Calvin would enjoy. I absolutely LOVE items that turn your character from one form into another. If it's possible for me to obtain one of these items, I absolutely go for it.

The Murloc Costume

The Murloc Costume is an item that was given out to those who attended BlizzCon 2007. As such, it has been one of my favorite items for a very long time. The costume wears off if you get into combat, but it's good for all out-of-combat functions, as best as I can tell. You can even wear it while mounted. It's bind on account, and I've transferred it across a couple characters. I'm currently attaching it to a new character so that I can bring it over to a new server. Cross-realm mail couldn't come faster, if you ask me. It lasts 1 hour and has no cooldown. Some animations, such as mining aren't supported.

There is a quest chain in the Borean Tundra which gives you a similar item. However, it only works within the questing area.

Dartol's Rod of Transformation

My favorite little furbolg suit. Dartol's Rod of Transformation item turns you into a furbolg for 3 minutes and has a 1 minute cooldown. It was part of an Alliance quest chain in Ashenvale, and you would lose the item if you completed the chain. However, many players like myself stopped partway through the quest chain in order to keep this item. It, unlike the Murloc Costume, doesn't disappear if you enter combat. It does, however, disappear if you take damage. Furthermore, you don't have access to many animations while running around as a furbolg, but you do have attack animations. This item is actually no longer in the game; it was removed with the quest that gave it. They did not remove it from players who still had it pre-Cataclysm. There is a new item, the Stave of Fur and Claw, that is exactly the same except it has a 1-hour cooldown and can be obtained from the Timbermaw Hold faction at exalted.

Frenzyheart Brew
Puppy men! The Frenzyheart Brew is available to those who achieve revered status with the Frenzyheart tribe in Scholozar Basin. Not many people have this wonderful item because they spent their time trying to get a proto-drake from the Oracle tribe. Like the Reins of the Green Proto-Drake, it is a random drop from an item that is purchasable at revered status. Unlike the proto-drake, this has a much higher (~23%) drop rate from the item it comes from (as opposed to 5%). In recent times, the ripening duration for these items has been reduced to 3 days to make them easier to farm from. The buff from the Frenzyheart Brew lasts 5 minutes. It doesn't break from combat, but does break if you mount. Combine it with the Curious Wolvar Pup from Northrend children's week for an adorable combination.

Iron Boot Flask

The Iron Boot Flask is obtainable from a vendor in the Storm Peaks for 20 Relics of Ulduar, which drop off of some mobs in the zone. Ten of the relics are used for a quest to open up the vendor, and the other ten actually buy the item. This item will turn you into an iron dwarf for 10 minutes and has a 1-hour cooldown. I'm not sure how this is affected by mounting but you can definitely fight while using it. There's even an achievement for beating the Iron Assembly fight in Ulduar while under it's affects! This form has all the dwarf animation, so it's a very robust transformation. With it's long duration, and combat viability, I love this one.

Gordok Ogre SuitI don't have a picture of myself with this one :-(

This transformation is a very old one, like the furbolg suit, but it's not as old. The Gordok Ogre Suit is a crafted item that was introduced in the same patch as Dire Maul. The suit was used to complete the dungeon in a special way that gave you better loot. Doing such was called a Dire Maul tribute run. To craft the suit, you need a smattering of late classic WoW mats and an Ogre Tannin. The Ogre Tannin can be found in a basket within the Dire Maul North instance. There is an alternate means of crafting the suit from a quest inside the instance that only requires the tannin.

Since this item is consumed when used and is unique it can be slightly inconvenient to acquire. You'd have to acquire one, then mail or give it to another character so that you can make another one. Getting to Dire Maul isn't exactly easy either. The upside is that this one is very unique and, as an ogre, you can dance and fight, but cannot mount. Since you have to spread this around your alts or friends, this makes a good item for everybody to get dressed up in. It lasts 10 minutes.

There are tons more item like these, ones that I have even, but these are my favorites. I lovely wowhead.com commenter has actually compiled a list of all such items if you want to find more of these wonderful, fun additions to the game.